Forever Isn't Long
by OxVanillaPeachesxO
Summary: My OC Althea is having some troubles when her job gets sabotaged, and she is having money issues. And when her feelings with Jude screw everything up, what's a Canadian girl to do? *sigh* Teen troubles. RATED T FOR LANGUAGE!
1. Chapter 1

**Me: **It**'s time. It's time for me to make a 6teen story. I've been watching the show and reading fanfics about it even before I got my account, and I've been dying to make a small story about Jude and my OC. A little long, a little short. Who cares? =P**

_Italics: Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Bold: Author's comments**

Underlined: Chapter

**_Combined: WTF?!_**

**If any of you authors think I'm copying off of you, shoot me where I stand, burn me to a crisp and shove my smoldering ashes down the nearest hobo's throat. XD**

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"Oh please, Jonesy! There is absolutely no way that your Italian Greyhound is bigger than my Great Dane! It's not possible!" I argued with the Hispanic teenager, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Yea right, Ally. Get real. If your so called "bigger" Dane is larger than my Greyhound, then why did ten people say mine was bigger than yours?" he sneered, leaning back in his chair at the table. I sighed and pushed him, sending him greeting the floor with a groan. "Um...ok, uh, ouch."

"Serves you right, Jonesy. If you wanna think that puny little excuse for a dog, who's barely bigger than my stomach, is towering over mine, then by all means, fall to the great death." (**If you enjoy Italian Greyhounds, or Great Danes, do not be offended by the bickering of Jonesy and Althea.)**

Caitlin and Wyatt sighed as Jonesy and I turned away from each other, angry with the world. Nikki would be there any minute, and I thought Jude would finish his ice rink duties soon. Jen was probably getting a tongue-lashing (or sitting in the penalty box, whatever) from Coach, but we can never be sure with that girl.

"You guys fight over the most idiotic stuff," Wyatt sighed and took a sip of his coffee from 'Grind-Me'. Caitlin agreed with him.

"Seriously, and Jonesy, you should be trying to find another job. Hasn't it been like a week since your last job?" Cait asked, whipping up a squishy for a tired-looking mother and her crying newborn.

"Speaking of fighting," Jonesy said, bringing up a subject out of random, "I actually found a job at 'Fight-It-Off'. I'm the new referee for the pewee fights, and I can't get paid much higher."

Nikki snorted as she pulled up a chair. "You can't even beat Caitlin in a fight, let alone _stop _little kids from fighting."

Finally, someone with some common sense at this table! "That'll be five bucks, Jonesy. Cough it up."

Jonesy sighed from the results of our little bet last night and fished out his forlorn-looking wallet. We made a bet that if Jonesy got a new gig by tomorrow, Nikki would say something about it. (Of course) I won.

He guitily threw me a fresh Lincoln, and it smiled up at me. As I predicted, Jude skated up next and plopped down in a seat next to me.

"How's it going, Geroldimo?" I asked, stuffing the bill in my hoodie pocket. He looked depressed, like he had lost his board or something.

"Not too good, bra. Starr's hangin' out with those Goths again, and it's totally harshing my mellow," he sighed wearily, and slumped down further into his chair. Jeez, if he went any further, he'd probably need to wear a back brace for life. I straightened him up and he banged his head on the table loudly, attracting Ron Rent-A-Cop.

"No vandilising mall property, maggots!" he growled and started writing Jude a ticket. I sighed and snatched it out of his hands, ripping it to shreds.

"Don't be a tree killer, Ron. We only have so many to go around, don't waste them writing tickets," I sneered at him and handed the scraps to him, patting his hand and turning away. He stared at me for a moment, and stalked away, muttering something about "revenge" and "ungrateful maggots". Nonsense as usual.

I patted Jude's back again. "No need to get stressed, bro. It's probably only a temporary thing. Probably just tying up loose ends or somethin'. No biggie."

Cait decided to put her two-cents in. "Jude, there's really nothing to get worried over. Starr probably is just hanging out with them because she misses you, or she wants to find someone else."

Well, _that _advice helped a bunch, and Jude groaned into the table. I whipped my head at Caitlin.

"Thanks a bunch, Caitlin. Now we have nothing to worry about because of you," I said sarcastically, sounding a lot like Nikki. Cait, however, didn't pick up on it.

"It was no problem, Ally. I'd love to do it again sometime."

All I could do was sigh heavily.

As I predicted again, Jen walked up to the table and sat down in her seat, a look of joy on her face. It was unusual for Jen to be this happy after work. I wonder...

"Why the happy face, Jen? Did Coach fire you?" Jonesy smirked and Nikki and I both socked his arm, smiling at each other.

"Great minds think alike," she smirked while settling back into her chair.

"Exactly," I agreed.

"No, Jonesy, Coach did not fire me. I met this new cute guy who works with us..." I really stopped paying any attention after she said the two dreadful words; cute guy.

I turned back to comfort Jude.

"Jude, no worries, I'm sure Starr is just hanging out with them for the day or so, and she swore to you that she wouldn't go Gothic again," I said soothingly, rubbing his back. He seemed so...un-Jude-like, I almost wondered if rabbid-purple hamsters that ate people's lungs and controlled them had taken over Jude. But just to make sure, I waved his board in front of his face, and his seemingly lifeless eyes followed every movement of the board, every swing.

"Man...Jude is like totally out of it," I told the others and they nodded, finished with Jen's story. My watch beeped suddenly, scaring the skin off of everyone but Jude, and I got up sadly.

"Gotta go to Albatross and Fitch. Call me if something else happens, K?" I asked and everyone nodded, either waving or calling "bye." Jude looked at me desperately, for some reason now begging me to stay. Well, I sure wanted to, but, as manager of a store, I need to keep my record clean.

I blew him a fake kiss, and he giggled like a child. At least he still had laughter left in his small, patched-up heart that was steadily deteriorating. I walked away and headed to my job, on the look out for the Rent-A-Cop. He was nowhere to be seen, but that guaranteed _nothing._

When I got to the store, my coworker Kelli looked up from her magazine and smiled at me. "How's it going, Multi?"

I sighed. "Why does everyone call me that? It's not like I'm bipolar or somethin'."

She laughed, her strawberry-blonde hair shaking with her head. Unlike most of the strawberry-blondes I had seen, hers was real. "Well, you have many moods. So it fits."

"Wever."

I went to the back room and stashed my stuff, getting out my wireless headphones and putting them on. It had cost me a huge chunk of my paycheck, but these babies were so cool. I turned them to a random song and smiled. I was temporarily satisfied, and nothing really mattered.

While I folded clothes and hummed to the music, I couldn't help but think about Jude and Starr. When I had first met everyone, they had seemed like the perfect couple, like they would never separate. She was still Gothic, but when I learned that Jude (or as he wanted to be called, Judas) was desperately trying to fit in with her group just to be her girlfriend, I couldn't help but let out a Caitlin-styled "Aww."

But it didn't work out so well, and Starr ended up dumping Jude, claiming that she needed to "spread her wings" and "find new people". Which basically, in girl code, it meant she was tired of Jude. But, she had dumped her Gothic ways, similar to her breaking-up-with Jude, and swore not to go back.

I didn't see eye-to-eye with her a lot, especially on the subject about Jude. From what I had heard from everyone else, they had been through a lot, ice and fire, and she just decided she wanted to throw him away, like he was some doll. Like he didn't have feelings. Like he wasn't human.

It really ticked me off, but I held myself back from socking her once so Jude wouldn't get even more depressed. Awweh, some friend I am.

Absentmindedly, I was folding the clothes and stacking them so that they were towering over me in an unstable pile.

"Multi!" Nathan, my other dude at the store, called worriedly and I turned my head, bumping into the pile.

"Hey, what the--"

Before I knew it, the giant pile of clothes crashed down on me, and I groaned and spit out a pink cashmere sweater. "Ugh, me and my stupid brain."

"Wow, Ally," Kelli and Nathan sniggered at the same time, shaking their heads.

"A little help--" I started and another pile of clothes fell on me, blocking the light. "--here."

_So Karma is finally getting back at me for the 3rd Grade, huh? _I thought and chuckled inwardly. _About time._

_

* * *

  
_

After I got off of my painful shift, I went to 'McFlipsters' to see if I could find Wyatt still working. It was only three, so maybe his shift wasn't over.

Turns out I was right, and one of my best friends was chilling behind the register, humming a song to himself and writing something on a piece of paper.

"'Sup, Wyatt? Writing another song?" I asked, leaning against the counter. He looked up and grinned at me.

"Yeah. For Serena," he said and folded the paper in half, shoving it in his pocket.

I was really proud of Wyatt for getting back together with Serena, even after all she did to him, making him the bigger person in this situation. They had been going steady and strong now for a couple of months, and I had enough pride bottled inside me to send me to Pluto, maybe farther.

"Sweet, dude. When does your shift end?" I questioned, shifting my weight to my other foot.

He looked at his watch. "Riiiiiight...now!"

Wyatt jumped over to counter and crashed into me, making me giggle.

"Wow, Wyatt, you hold a grudge for awhile, huh?" He chuckled and helped me up, and we walked out of the store. We chatted amiably along the way, aiming cracks occasionally at each other. This was the way it was supposed to be, talking with friends.

When we got to the lemon, everyone was there. Jude still looked down in the dumps, but everyone was giggling at something on Jen's laptop.

Wyatt and I sat down in our usual spots, scooting up to the computer screen. The old _Numa Numa _video on YouTube was playing, but this time a fat lady was doing it instead of the guy. Believe it or not, this video was _waaaay _funnier, and it had everyone busting up.

After the video was over, I relaxed back in my seat and patted Jude's back. "How ya holdin' up, Geroldimo?"

He didn't respond, and I waved my hand in front of his face. "Heeeello? Earth to Jude?" I turned to the others. "He's really bummed, eh?"

They all nodded sadly.

"He hasn't said a word all day," Jonesy sighed. I shook my head.

"Jeez, Starr really did it this time." Then I leaned in closer to them, covering Jude's ears. He didn't notice. "I don't know why she keeps going with those Goths, when she knows it bums Jude."

Everyone then started looking nervous, as if they knew something. I looked at them all, confused. "Um...Althea? We think we know why Starr keeps hanging out with those Goths."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well? Spill the beans then."

A long, heavy silence fell upon us and I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for the news. Finally, I sighed wearily.

"Guys. Do you _want _me to uncover Jude's ears? Because, believe me, I will." I loosened my hands a bit to show my reasoning, and Jen blurted out,

"She's dating one of them!" She instantly slammed her mouth over her big mouth, and this time, I sighed.

"That is _harsh_," Jonesy said, shaking his head.

"More like cold-blooded murder, if ya ask me," I added and shook my head along with him. "Wait till Jude finds out."

They all looked at me with a look on their faces that said, "What the (bleep)?!"

"You can't tell him! He'll go ballistic!" Cait said quietly, a look of horror now spreading across her face.

"Yeah! We might not-more likely Starr won't- see the end of the day!" Wyatt said, slamming his coffee cup down on the table. I held up my hands in defense.

"Hey, hey, no need to get evil on me." Then I paused. "But he'll find out one way, sooner or later. And what will he do when he finds out that we, his best buds, didn't tell him _first_?"

Everyone got quiet and I uncovered the blonde skater's ears. Again, he showed no emotion.

But he did ask, "What were you guys screamin' about?"

I looked at the table, inwardly cursing Karma. _It finally caught up with me from the fourth grade, huh? _"Uh, nothing Jude."

He shrugged and sighed again, standing up. "Gotta Stick It. Later." And with that, he was off.

Nikki looked around the table at us. "We really are gonna have to tell him, sometime."

But none of us wanted to do it soon.

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**Lolz, don't worry. I'm not gonna take forever with posting the next chappie, because they're already prewritten in my DM (Document Manager).**

**Don't fret, my fellow fairies.**

**XD**

**R&R...if you dare...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: I TOLD you I had the next chappie all posted up. So, hahahaha! xD**

**Remember, if you think I'm copying you (but I need to see evidence) shoot me where I stand, burn me and shove my smoking ashes down your neighborhood hobo.**

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Chapter 2: Fire!

When it was almost time for me to head back to Albatross and Fitch, I drank a squishy and sighed.

"Man. Life is rough for Jude, huh? I mean the girl who he still hasn't gotten over is dating another dude? Cruelty."

Everyone nodded in sympathy. Then something hit me in the back of the head, and I groaned.

"Ouch. What the fudge was that?" I turned around, but no one was looking at me or laughing. So I looked on the floor, and a paper airplane was at my feet, staring up at me as if to say, "Are you gonna pick me up or what?"

I grabbed it, and it seemed unusually heavy. Jen glanced at it.

"What's inside?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't have x-ray vision, Jen. I have to open it, you know."

"Well, hurry up."

I stuck my tongue out at her and opened the paper airplane, and a small, velvety black box dropped out on the table, and everyone made frantic grabs for it.

"I wanna see it!" Cait screeched over Jonesy, who was flipping her off his back.

"I deserve to look at it first!" Wyatt panted, snapping for it while Nikki pulled him by his hair.

"No, I do!"

"Me!"

"No way, airhead!"

"Mine!"

"**HEY!**" I shouted and snatched the box, glaring at them. "It landed on the back of _my _head, so I get to peek first."

"Aww..." everyone sighed and sat back down, and I opened the note. It read:

_Dear Althea,_

_Meet me behind the mall at midnight. Bring the gift and come alone._

_-Anonymous_

My eyes blew up like saucers, and I cocked my head. "How odd..."

"What, what, what?!" everyone screamed and lunged for the note, and I yelled in alarm, falling back and crashing to the floor with my best friends on top of me. "Guys!"

They ignored me completely, reading over the note quickly. It took them several minutes, which meant they read it over, and finally jumped off of me, gasping.

"Aww! Ally has a stalker!" Jonesy mocked and I slugged his arm, growling.

"It's not a stalker, dillop." Then I turned to Caitlin. "And, _no, _I'm not going to meet them."

She looked at me strangely. "Why not? You might find 'The One'."

I sighed. "Cait, I'm really not in the mood to get jumped and raped in an alley, thanks for the offer though."

Everyone except Cait agreed with that silently, though she still didn't see my point.

"How do you know it's not some hot guy in the mall? Maybe a crush?"

"Caitlin, I have a feeling it's not going to be that simple. I just know it." Then I looked at my watch and grabbed my board. "Later, cats, I'm late for tea."

And I skated off, chuckling in my mind. Who would be stupid enough to go to an alley at _midnight, _for the love of all things weird? Not me.

Not even if I got a date for it.

* * *

My day at my job was relatively normal, well, kinda normal, until someone started screaming.

Kelli, Nathan and I all looked up from what we were doing, then at each other.

"What the heck was that?" Kelli asked, setting down a black sweatshirt.

"I guess we should check it out, huh?" I said and we went to the front door, and I pulled on the doors. They wouldn't budge. "Uh, guys, we might have a slight problem here..."

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked and tugged on the doors too, but it did no good. We tried the keys, but they did about as much as a bunch of sticks.

"This is...odd," we all agreed.

"How can the doors lock by themselves when," I said, "they can only lock on the inside?"

"If we knew, Multi, we would've been out of here already," Kelli sighed and flipped her strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulders.

"Well, let's try the back door," Nate suggested and we nodded, moving quickly to the back room. The steel door there was in the same condition as the front doors, so I sighed, exasperated.

"This is so--" I never got to finish my sentence, because right then, the lights cut out. We were all left standing in pitch-black darkness, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Guys...?" Kelli said quietly. "Who turned out the lights?"

"The main switch is in here...but no one touched it," Nate said, his voice lathered with confusion. We walked to the main room, but something dark and heavy was blocking the glass doors and windows, preventing any light from coming in.

"Ok. Let's take a look at our situation," I said, "and figure it out. One, the lights have gone out, the doors and windows are blocked, and we can't get out. Either we're being sabotaged, or we're not alone in this store."

"I'm getting scared, Nathan," the strawberry prep murmured to her boyfriend, and I could literally see her clutching his arm. I heard his shirt fabric rustle as he shrugged in the dark.

"Well, what are we--" For the second time that day, someone was interrupted by a loud _boom _that sent us spiraling to the windows and sliding down them.

"Ow, that really smarts," I muttered, rubbing my aching arm. Then I smelled a burnt scent, and it made my eyes water and my throat tighten, forcing me to cough. "Oh man guys, I think I smell smoke!"

When Kelli and Nate turned around, she let loose the loudest scream I'd ever heard in my life.

"Fire!" Nate shouted and I groped along the far wall for the fire extinguisher, but it was nowhere to be found. A dancing orange/red glow was spreading along the wall closest to the back room, and I gasped.

"Aw, man! The fire extinguisher is gone!" I cried and frantically searched once more, but my efforts were fruitless.

"Who has their cell phone?!" Kelli said nervously. I didn't respond but pulled out mine, automatically dialing '9-1-1'.

A pleasant, yet tired, sounding voice answered. "911 Emergency, what's your emergency?"

"My friends and I are trapped inside a burning store, and all the windows and doors are blocked, it's dark, and the fire extinguisher is gone," I replied somewhat calmly, biting my nails. The blazing inferno was peeking out of the back room, and I realized Nate was gone.

"Where's Nathan?" I mouthed to Kelli, and she whispered back, "Grabbing our bags!"

"Ok, remain calm, and what is the address?"

"Um, 6954 Cheshire Street, you know, Galleria Mall?" I said, and I heard the operator chuckle. **(I made up a random address, sorry)**

"Of course. Help is on the way," she said, "but don't hang up. I need to make sure they get there."

"Ok."

Nate came running back from the back (wow, double back) with his backpack, my duffel, and Kelli's shoulder bag. I could see with the dim light of the fire that his usually pale face was shiny with perspiration.

I caught my bag easily, thanking Nate.

"Does anyone know where you are?" the operator asked, and my attention snapped back to our conversation.

"Um yeah, my friends and my parents know where we are," I responded anxiously; the fire was reaching out of the room, lapping at clothing racks. Any minute, it would soon be licking at our heels, consuming more debris.

"Ok, try to attract attention in anyway possible, maybe by--" I ignored the rest of the sentence, started pounding heavily on the guarded doors, motioning for my coworkers to do the same. They complied, and even added some frantic pleas of help.

"Firemen and police should be there now, but assist them in helping to find you."

"Ok, can I hang up and call a friend? They're by the entrance," I asked.

"Sure." I hung up and pressed Jude's speed dial, and he answered.

"Yo, Ally? Are you Ok? The police and fire people are here, saying there's a fire in--"

"No, I need help. Tell them to come here, please Jude," I interrupted nervously, for the inferno had demolished half of the store, and I was choking on smoke. We got down on the floor, covering our mouths and noses.

"Can do, Althea," he said and I heard him yelling to someone, most likely the police. In less than a minute, officers and firemen were breaking us out of the collapsing store, pulling us out. Before they got us out, my leg started burning, and I yelped.

"Oh God, my leg's on fire!" I screamed and a buff-looking fireman carried me out, and sprayed my leg with a fire extinguisher, similar to our missing Albatross and Fitch one. It was still burning, and medics were treating my leg faster than you could say, "Owie."

Jude and the others were running up to us, Jonesy and Nikki shoving past officers. They instantly started bombing us with questions.

"Oh my gosh, are you Ok?"

"Did you get hurt?"

"How's the store looking?"

"Is anyone else inside?"

I waited until they had calmed down, and started explaining.

"Ok, we were trapped inside, and--" For the second time, I was rudely interrupted when a loud cracking noise shattered through the mall, catching everyone's attention. We whipped our heads towards the noise, and found out that the store was collapsing under the fire. Firemen and policemen were blocking everyone back, and Kelli, Nate, and I stared at the remains of our store.

Only a moment ago, we had just been inside that very same structure, pleading helplessly against the doors. We could've still been inside, too, and we might've been gone.

It was really disturbing, seeing your life vanish. Like you would be dead if one of you hadn't called the police just in time to rescue you.

It wasn't very pleasant thinking about death.

* * *

**Me: OMG, so Ally almost died? Ugh, weirdness all around. XD**

**Anyways, don't worry again, 'cause next chappie will be up in...3 minutes?**

**Don't R&R until all the chaps are up!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: I'm back, boys and girls. T__T Did I not tell you that ALL of these chappies were prewritten? In my DM? So calm the eff down, people! Lol, jk, cause I can't know your responses until the story is posted up. =_= Awweh, onto the chap! =B**

Chapter 3: Unemployed

After all the commotion about the fire and wonderful crap like that, we all headed back to the lemon, and I needed a squishy badly.

I was out of work until the repairs were done, which took like 2 months to replace the inventory and stuff, so I was gonna go broke _real _soon.

I acted a lot like Jude as I slumped down in my chair, breathing out a heavy sigh and banging my head against the table.

"I'm ouwwa worg for lige twee monws," I muttered into the table, which faintly smelled of disinfectant.

"What was that, Ally?" Cait said while sliding my squishy across the table. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, clamping a hand around the cold beverage. It was majorly contrasting with my damp, clammy hand.

"I said: I'm outta work for like three months," I sighed sadly, taking a sip of the drink. It calmed my nerves slightly, clearing my head.

"Oh, yeah. Bummer. Bra, how ya gonna buy anything?" Jude said, oddly happier than he was yesterday.

"Yeah Ally, don't you have to pay rent and taxes and stuff at your apartment this week?" Jen said, walking up to the table and crashing in a chair.

I groaned and slammed my head back on the table. _Thanks a lot, Jen._

"Nice goin', Jen! Now she'll never remove her head from the freakin' table," Nikki whispered quietly to Jen, though she couldn't keep secrets from me. When you have really bad eyesight, so bad that when you don't wear contacts or glasses, you're legally blind, then your hearing is like a bat's or something.

I whipped my head up and glared at Nikki, trying my best to look angry, but I came out looking all exhausted and worn out, which made no effect on her at all.

My cozy apartment had two bedrooms, a guest and a master, an updated kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and a laundry room. It was way bigger than I bargained for, but my American ShortHair Lizzie kept good company, and so did my neighbors Drake and Kesha, who just moved in after getting married. They were a young couple, barely out of high school, but they really loved each other like thirty-year olds. We ate dinner a lot together, and Lizzie got along well with their Rottweilers **(sp?) **Trixie and Sir Hammington.

But it still didn't cover the fact that I had no job, no pay, and a source of money that was running low.

I sighed once again into the table. It was going to be a long month.

* * *

While I skateboarded home, I thought about telling my parents about my situation. Being a pediatrician and a brain surgeon, they had a wealthy source of income rolling in every day. My parents weren't strict, but they weren't total pushovers, either. I bet that they would be kind enough to at least help me buy groceries and pay the bills. I could manage Lizzie, and I could try to stop spending so much at the mall.

When I arrived at my old house, I saw my mother tending to her garden in the front, humming a song. I smiled and braced myself, tapping her shoulder lightly. She glanced up and smiled at me warmly, straightening her back.

"Althea, my dear! It's wonderful to see you again!" she said and embraced me tightly, and I patted her back.

"Missed ya, Mom. How are you doing?" I asked and let go of her, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. My mother's dark, mahogany, straight hair was neatly hanging down her back, almost reaching her stomach. She was staring at me with mysterious, violet-blue eyes that shimmered with excitement, framed in their sanctuary of pure black, thick eyelashes. Her flawless skin was shiny with fresh sweat, and she dabbed at her face with a cloth. Though she wasn't as skinny as a Q-Tip, she wasn't in dire need of a good meal. Unknowingly, she was beautiful, perfect.

"I'm well, honey. Oliver and Mae have been waiting to see you, and Quinn won't stop saying your name," she responded and we both chuckled, imagining my older brother's repeating. I was loved deeply, and I never took advantage of it.

"Where's Daddy?" I asked innocently, shifting my skateboard from one arm to the other. I hadn't seen any of my family members, and I was feeling a tad bit homesick as well. It sometimes got lonely at my apartment, even with Lizzie.

"Oh, I think he's in the den watching the game. Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes, why don't you stay?"

Well, I couldn't exactly say no, and I thought about conserving as much of my own ample food supply as possible. "That would be awesome, Mom."

We walked back into the house together, and I admired the baby sproutlings of passionflowers that were budding on the vines along the doorframe. Mother and daughter stepped inside a warm house, and a cozy, gingerbread smell greeted my nose as we walked in. I loved how my family always managed to make it smell like gingerbread, sometimes even pears, my favorite fruit.

Oliver and Mae were watching Wow Wow Wubbzy on the living room television, and they both turned their heads as I stepped in. My little siblings squealed with joy and jumped off the couch, lunging onto me.

"Yay, yay, Mommy! We told you Ally would be back!" Mae squealed and I laughed, hugging her and Oliver. They were both insanely beautiful too, like their mother and father. Mae's golden-brown hair was cut into a little-kid bob, but it made her look cute, and her bangs were hanging in front of her dolphin-gray eyes. I was ruffling Oliver's black hair, and his tiny golden tips were contrasting in a gorgeous way.

"I missed you guys," I said warmly, and they jumped up in down in unison.

"Are you gonna stay for din-din, Thea? Pleeeeeease?" Oliver asked in that cute little kid voice, and I grinned at him.

"You betcha, Olli. I wanna see Ethan too, ya know."

They both screeched in happiness and settled back into the couch, resuming their TV time. I glanced towards the first staircase, anxiously making my way closer to it.

"M-Mom, Ethan is up here, right? He's not," I gulped, "with _Jacky_, is he?"

Mom smiled. "Yep. Jacky said she had to go to cheerleading practice, so she had to leave."

"Yes," I murmured under my breath and sped up the stairs, not making a creak as I pushed open Ethan's door.

My big bro was spread across his bed, reading one of his Manga Disturbing magazines upside down and listening to his headphones. Perfect. I could sneak up on him and he wouldn't even know I was there.

I tiptoed silently over to his bed and crouched down, so he didn't see me. I waited a couple of seconds.

With a loud, "GRAAAAAAH!" I jumped him and he yelped, dropping his magazine. I tackled him off the bed, laughing the whole time, and when he looked who it was, he started laughing, too.

We wresled playfully on the floor for twenty minutes before I had him in a headlock and noogied him, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my cheeks. I let go of him and fell on the bed, giggling my eyes out.

When we had calmed down enough to manage sentences, he smiled at me. "Well if it isn't little JoJo. I haven't seen you since I went away for college, sis."

"No der, Sherlock."

That sent giggles out of both of us, and I hugged him tightly. "I missed you, Eat."

"No kidding."

We, my best brother and I, sat on his bed for ten minutes, just hugging each other. Somehow when I was little, I ended up calling Ethan "Eat" because I couldn't think up a better name for him, which was funny. I had missed my Eat the most, because I never actually got to saw him anymore. He was always hung up in college, dealing with homework and papers and essays and...Jacky.

Jacky was his (unfortunately) snobby, pushy, annoying, rude, jerky, all-around cruel dog of girlfriend, and they had been "dating" for six months now, which ticked me off. How could a sensible guy like my Eat get involved with that little Witch of the West? I actually only hated her for one reason, but that reason was a very good reason.

The little (bleep) had hurt Oliver by slapping his cheek when he had thrown up on her when he had the flu.

Neither my father or my mother could hold me back, and I wailed on her three hours straight. How could she slap _my _baby brother when he was sick with the flu?! DUH he was gonna throw up, you just happened to being messing with him and he was sick, retard.

Eventually, my parents had to call the police, and they dragged me off of her, but not before I'd given her head trauma, broken both of her arms, split three ribs in half, broken her jaw, knocked out a couple of her teeth, and twisted her ankle. Since I was still a minor, all I really got hit with was one hundred hours of community service, which was actually pretty fun. I saw little burrowing owls, and they were with their baby, which was cute.

Anyways, I missed my big brother.

Finally, we stopped hugging when Mom called, "Dinner's ready!"

Together, we bounded down the stairs, smiling at each other. Oliver and Mae greeted us halfway up the stairs and hugged/tackled Eat, too. It was nice to see my family together, and then I remembered Dad.

"DADDY!" I screamed and lunged down the stairs, ran into the dining room and there was my father, drinking a cup of joe and reading the paper, as if it was breakfast time. He looked up and grinned at me, and I bear hugged him.

"My little Ally. It's been awhile since I've seen you last," he said softly, tousling my hair.

"I missed you, Dad. How's your job going?" I murmured into his big chest, looking up at him. Gosh, was _everyone _in this family beautiful? My dad had pitch-black hair like me, though his was shorter (much, much shorter) than mine. His glacier-blue eyes were looking down at me, a smile in them. Of course, he was shaved, but had the faintest hint of a beard, which made him look like a dad.

"Wonderful as usual, Althea. Are you staying for dinner?" he asked, letting go of me and settling back down in his chair.

"Yeah. I wanna see my family again, so I'm staying," I said, but their was a hidden meaning behind that. _I wanna spend time with you guys **but **I need money._

"Great. The theme is breakfast, if you hadn't guessed already."

"No, really?"

He smiled at me and continued drinking his coffee, and we all sat down at our chairs, glancing hungrily at the golden pancakes Mom was taking off the stove. She set them amongst platters of crisp bacon, gooey eggs, bowls of cereal, browned toast, pitchers of orange juice and milk, a big ham, and jam. It really was breakfast, and I smiled. It made me feel like I had been here all day.

"Dinner," she said quietly, "is served. Dig in!"

I immediately grabbed three strips of bacon, two slices of toast, some sunny-side-up eggs, a bowl of Lucky Charms, a slice of ham, and a glass of orange juice.

While I spread jam on my toast (and ate eggs at the same time), Olli and Mae were fighting over their bacon.

"No, Oliver! That's my bacon piece!" Mae argued, a game of tug-a-war beginning between the two.

"Nuh unh! I had it first, Mae!" Oliver bickered, tugging back. I sighed and snatched the piece of bacon out of their small hands, splitting it in half.

"There. Better?" I said and gave them each a half bacon, smiling. They looked at the bacon in their hands, to me, to each other, then the bacon again.

"Ok!" they said and chewed on it like beef jerky. I grinned in satisfaction and continued my own meal, rereading Hoot. I don't know why, but I loved that book so much, even if it was for middle schoolers or something. Ethan had the sequel, Flush,  so I kept reading until he was done with it, and we switched off.

"Nice doing business with you, Althea Abmore," Ethan said, business-like, and I shook hands with him.

"Same to you, Mr. Ethan," I said, compressing a giggle. This was the way it was supposed to be, eating dinner/breakfast with my family and having a good time.

* * *

When we were done with dinner, Olli, Mae, and I headed back to the living room, kicking our feet up. Surprisingly, Oliver and Mae were the only little kids I knew who absolutely _despised _Barney and Dora. It was funny, because they were only 4 and 5, and yet they still enjoyed shows like The Simpsons. Odd, huh? So I turned to Degrassi: The Next Generation and chilled with my little siblings, relaxed completely.

I wasn't really watching the show like Olli and Mae, because I was too busy thinking about how I was going to ask for money. I pictured that it would be at night, so my parents might be a little drowsy or caught up in their work, but I really didn't see why I needed to take advantage of them. It wasn't my fault that someone tried to kill me, now is it?

So I just decided that I would tell them in the morning, before everyone else got up. I wanted a little alone time to do it, so none of my brothers or my sister would try to eavesdrop. I was a little jittery about it, and everything was a blur in front of my eyes. It made me dizzy.

When it was time to crash, I rehearsed what I would say to the people who brought me into the world in my old bedroom, and how I would spend the money. Temporarily, I would have to severely cut down the amount of paper-view cable I watched; no more wresling matches or skateboarding reality shows, but I could live with it. Hopefully my parents could bum me enough cash so that I could still help out at the children's orphanage, but it was a slim chance.

"Yo, Ally? What's up with you?" Ethan said, waving a hand in front of my face and snapping me out of my thoughts. "You've been spacing out all day."

I shook my head. "Nothin'. Just trying to figure out a way to ask Mom and Dad for something."

"For what?"

I hated lying to Eat, but I didn't want to tell him. Not yet. "Uh--I need to know...oh, what's it to you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and beckoning for him to scram.

"Hey, no need to get like that. Just lookin' out for my baby sis, ya know?" I sighed heavily.

"Eat, I'm not your baby sister anymore. Mae is younger than me, remember?"

"So? You'll always be my little baby JoJo, no matter how old you get." I grinned and playfully pushed him out the door.

"Bye, Ethan. I don't wanna see you again until breakfast time, maybe lunch," I said, waving and shutting the door firmly behind me before he could respond.

I sat back down on my bed and put my head in my hands, sighing again. Why was I so stressed out about telling my parents?

All I knew was that it was going to be a long morning tomorrow.

* * *

**Me: If any of you get peeved off about me saying that Jacky slapped Oliver, copy what I told you to do if you think I copied off of you, k?**

**R&R if you want, I really won't read them until the last chappie is up. =3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M BACK, MINIONS!! *ahem* Anyways, here's the next chapter in Forever Isn't Long. REMEMBER TO SLAP ANYONE WHO EATS PUPPIES, OK?**

**Random person in my head: No comment.**

Chapter 4: Effing Epic Fail, dude

When I woke up from my restless sleep, it was 6:42 AM, around the time my parents got up to do their doctor work, or whatever it was. I yawned and stretched, jumping out of bed and pulling on my mix-matched skull and candy bar socks, I made my way to the door. Cautiously, I opened the door without a creak and tiptoed into the hall, running a hand through my hair. I heard Mom and Dad talking quietly in the kitchen, so I crept down the stairs and ducked down under a chair on the landing.

"Charles, she doesn't have enough money to even get through the week! Can't we do something for the poor girl?" my mother pleaded with Dad, and I instantly thought that they were talking about me. But how did they know? None of my family members even knew Albatross and Fitch had burned down.

Either way, I stayed behind the chair and eavesdropped silently.

"No, Martha," my father said firmly but calmly, "I want to see how she deals with this on her own. We can't just go barging in on her life."

"But she's barely out of high school! She won't be able--"

"Martha, my dear." Dad stroked her hand, leaning in closely. "She's not just a little girl anymore. Even if you don't think so, she's grown up dramatically, and she needs to experience the world on her own. If she really goes down, then we'll help her, but I want to ride it out."

Mom sighed and nodded. "Fine. But the instant she needs help, we're giving her some money!"

"I know."

Well, that made me shrink back up the stairs and into my room, where I fell on the bed. They weren't going to give me money until I really needed it. Probably when I was wearing rags and Lizzie was just a sack of bones and dust. It really killed my mojo, and crushed my confidence. There was no way I could ask them now, since I had just heard them talking about it.

While my head was smothered into my pillow, someone knocked on the door.

"Go away," I said, muffled, and turned over.

"Thea? Can Olli and I come in?" a small voice asked, and I realized it was Mae. I got up and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal Mae clutching her stuffed bunny and Oliver holding his G.I. Joe action figure.

"What's wrong guys?" I questioned, shutting the door again after my siblings walked in.

"Someone keeps knocking on the window, Thea!" Olli said, fear making his voice even more shriller than it was before. That made me stop, and I stared at them.

"Someone...keeps knocking...on your window? I asked slowly, trying to comprehend what my brother had just said.

They nodded vehemently, and I put a finger to my mouth, grabbing my aluminum baseball bat from off the dresser and opening the door. Olli and Mae stared after me as I sneaked to their room, raising the baseball bat like it was a bo-staff or something. When I walked silently into Oliver and Mae's bedroom, and snaked across the carpeted floors to the window, where something-or indeed, someone- was knocking loudly on the window.

I took a deep breath and held the bat, and pulled back the curtain, preparing to swing.

It was Jude Lizowski, sitting on the cedar branch and rapping on the window.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and opened the window. "Jude! Dude, you totally freaked my brother and sister out! What do you want?"

He gave me a lopsided grin. "We're all going to see a movie today. You wanna come? Snacks are on Wyatt and me."

I considered the price of a ticket, and nodded. Since it was Saturday, it would only cost me two bucks for a ticket. "Sure. What time?"

"Uh..." He tried to remember, and smiled when he did. "Seven."

"Cool," I said, and was about to close the window when I added, "But next time, if you're gonna get the window address wrong, can't you wait until the afternoon and come to the door, Geroldimo?"

"No way, bra. I feel like a monkey chillin' on this tree."

I giggled and pushed him lightly, making him lose his balance and crash to the soft grass. "Ouch."

"Good-bye, Jude. Don't be late!" I called down to him and closed the window, pulling the heavy blue curtain back over it. Olli and Mae were standing in the doorway curiously, staring at me.

"Who was that, Thea?" Olli asked quietly, setting his action figure back on his bed. Mae still held her bunny though, but I didn't care.

"A friend, Olli. Just a friend, " I said warmly and tucked them back in, kissing each of them on their foreheads. "G'Night you two, and don't let the...morning bugs bite."

They both giggled softly and I stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind me. I sighed and slid down the wall, resting my face in my hands. I was still bummed about the whole thing with my parents, and I was wide awake.

Knowing that there was no possible way to go back to sleep without killing myself, I went innocently downstairs, hoping that Mom and Dad hadn't noticed me spying on them. No one was in the kitchen, so I made myself a bowl of Raisin Bran Flakes (which I absolutely hate) and slumped into the couch in the living room, turning on the TV. The morning news was on, but I didn't pay attention to anything.

I was thinking now about the movie, and deciding I would only get a slushie or pop. I usually got popcorn, candy, _and _a drink, but I was totally riding my money, so nothing unnecessary was gonna blow my money.

My cereal was beginning to turn soggy and even nastier than it was before, so I dumped it in the sink and turned on the garbage disposal, and the rumbling made me jump. I was completely unaware of someone sneaking up on me, holding a cell phone.

Eat jumped me, and I crashed to the floor while he tied my hands and feet together. I looked at him with a confused stare on my face. "Uh, Eat? Can I ask why you're tying me up?"

"Because," he grunted, "we're going somewhere. I don't need you running off while we're walking."

"..."

What did I do to deserve being tied up and hoisted over my big brother's back like a package? I didn't even know where we were going.

"So...where we goin'?" I asked casually, my chin bumping painfully into Ethan's back.

"Not tellin', JoJo." What a wonderful, informative answer. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Eat usually-make that never- tied me up and carried me unless we were going somewhere he know I wouldn't like. I had a feeling in my gut (which Eat's shoulder was digging into) that this wasn't gonna turn out so well.

Eat and I travelled away from the house, turning corners and waving to our neighbors, who looked at us strangely. It wasn't everyday that you saw a girl being tied up and carried on her brother's shoulder, looking bored. But hey, this was Canada. Anything could happen.

Finally, Eat untied me and sat me on the ground, and I stretched. He pointed to the building behind me, and I swiveled around. We were at the mall.

But why would Ethan need to restrain me while we were going to the _mall? _I mean, it would be perfectly understandable if he was taking me to the circus, but this was a mall. Really?

"Huh," I said and shifted my weight to my other foot. "So, lemme get this straight. You tied me up and held me so we could go to the _mall_?"

My brother nodded and grabbed my arm. "C'mon. We gotta go in."

Then I remembered my pajamas. I dug my heels into the sidewalk, forcing Eat to stop dragging me. "Um, I'm not going in there in pajamas, if ya know what I mean. This is a _public _place, Eat."

"Don't be a wuss. It's just the mall, everyone in here has seen you in your pjs. What's the big deal?" He continued dragging me into the mall, and I sighed bitterly. If I was going to be embarrassed for life, I might as well go along with it instead of putting up a fight.

All of my friends, except for Jonesy, were sitting around our usual table by the lemon, but there was something off. At first, I couldn't figure out what it was.

But then I realized there was another person at the table. Not one of my friends, either.

She had unbe_liev_ably fake blonde hair, and her perfectly manicured nails were digging into the poor table, making dents with the french tips. She had shades on, and her Coach purse was hung from the back of her chair. And then I saw who it actually was.

_Jacky._

Why the hell was that dog here? Last time I checked, she wasn't apart of our little band. In fact, I didn't think my buds even knew her! So why was she sitting impatiently at our table, relaxing as if she owned the place?

_Don't punch her yet, _I thought angrily and clenched my fists, gritting my teeth. "Ethan...not that I don't mind, but why is your _girlfriend _sitting at _my _table?"

"Because today's the big beauty pageant, remember?" Eat said and I smacked my forehead. Duh, Jackass Jacky would be here for a little beauty competition. I snickered, thinking that Jacky thought she was pretty.

About as pretty as an elephant's butt.

All of my friends looked up when my brother and I walked up, but Jacky only stared at Eat.

"Finally, Ally! It took you guys long enough to get here," Jen muttered and stuck a finger at Jackass. "We've been sitting here for twenty minutes with Blondie, and she's annoying the hell out of me."

Well, that made two of us. "Sorry. Ethan here decided he needed to tie me up and carry me on his back, like I'm some effing package. Oh, and ignore Blonde Bitch over there."

Jacky growled at me and Eat shot me a warning glance, but I shrugged it off and sat down next to Jude. He looked at my pajamas with his eyebrow raised.

"New style, bra?" he said dubiously, feeling the soft material and smirking. Why did that make me blush all of a sudden?

"Yeah. You like?" I said, standing up and fake-modeling. All of my friends and Eat chuckled, but Jacky just rolled her eyes and latched onto Ethan like a lost puppy.

"Ethan, baby, can we go now? I wanna go fix my make-up," Jacky whined and kissed Eat's cheek to add some effect, and my big brother went head-over-heels.

"Uh, sure, Jacky." He turned to us in a daze, barely focusing. "See ya, guys."

Jeez, sometimes my brother can be so..._boyish._

Everyone must've noticed I was spaced out (or it was showing on my face, either way) because Jude poked my cheek. I stared at him.

Jude turned back to me. "I love."

I giggled and poked his arm, and he poked my stomach. "Who wouldn't?"

Nikki spoke up next. "So, what are you gonna do without a job? I mean, I hate working at The Khaki Barn, but it's a sure-fire way to get some mulah."

I shrugged boredly. "Dunno...chill with you guys, ya know?"

They all nodded in understanding and we sat in a comfortable silence, and I thought about how I was going to make it without a steady income. Lizzie would probably be Ok for about two months, but I was a human. I needed a regular supply of food and water, and I was already dangerously low at the moment.

"What was that for?" I asked and he sighed.

"Bra, we've been calling your name for, like, ten minutes. You Ok?"

"Yeah," I lied, but he saw through it. The blonde scooted closer to me.

"Ally, you still bummed about your job?" he asked softly, and I sighed heavily.

"Pretty much. My parents won't give me any money, and I'm seriously low on food." I put a finger to my chin. "I'll probably be out in about...a few days."

Jude shook his head. "Harsh. I wish we could find out who did this to your store, Ally."

I snorted. "Like I hadn't thought of that."

Then Jonesy's eyes brightened. "Wait! Hold everything! Don't move!"

We all turned to him, confused.

"Uh, Jonesy? We weren't moving in the first place," Cait said, rolling her eyes. Everyone snickered.

"Whatever. I will be right back," the Hispanic player exclaimed and ran away from the table, dragging his chair with him. Ron caught him and wrote him a ticket, but Jonesy ate it and continued on his way. I rolled my eyes, like Caitlin, and decided I was going to hide my face. I shook my head so that my pitch-black hair was hanging down in front of my eyes and I twirled my thumbs.

"Where do you think he's going?" Jen asked, not really showing much enthuisasm. I shrugged.

"For all we know, he could be blowing up the mall." Then I laughed darkly to myself. "But then again, Jonesy's too weak to do that."

Again, we chuckled quietly. This was why I loved my friends, because we could laugh at just about anything and not even think about it. I played with one of the black-and-gold strings on my shirt, and Jude decided to play with the other one. For some reason, it made me red in the face, and I played with his fingers. I dunno why, but they just looked so interesting at the moment that I didn't even care.

We probably looked like a couple to passerbys, because we got some smiles and nods of encouragement from people ranging from teens to senior citizens. Weird, huh?

Finally, Wyatt broke the silence by standing up. "Well, I'd love to sit around here and fart all day, but I gotta head to McFlipsters. See ya."

And with that, the African-American teenager waltzed away. Nikki stood up, too. "It's time for the daily Khaki torture. If I die, tell Jonesy's he's an idiot for me."

I smiled. "He already knows that."

She shrugged. "Tell him again," and walked off. So it was just me, Jude, Jen, and Cait. I sighed and swiveled back around in my chair, my leg brushing up against Jude's. He muttered something under his breath and I leaned in closely.

"What was that, Geroldimo?" I asked suspiciously, pinching his cheeks. He winced and smiled at me.

"Nothin'..." he said quietly, moving back my hair. I scowled and moved it back. He pushed it back again. I smiled, knowing I wouldn't win this battle, and pulled his hat down over his face.

"If my hair can't be in my face, then your hat can't be _out _of your face," I giggled and held his beanie there, not letting go. He laughed and tried to pull my hands off, but I latched on and bit his prying hands lightly. He mock-gasped and chuckled, moving his hands to my stomach and tickling me fiercely. I bursted out with laughter and let go of his hat, trying to stop his rapid hands.

"S-Stop Jude!" I screamed, finally shoving his hands off of me and wiping away a fresh tear. He just smirked and repositioned his cap, leaning back in his chair.

"Whatever, bra. My hat's part of my identity, or whatever," he said calmly and I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say." Jen and Cait were giggling for some reason, and I turned towards them.

"What happened to you guys?" Then I rolled my eyes again. "Wait, don't tell me. You saw a cute guy, and now you're going nuts over him."

Jen and Cait shook there heads and giggled again, and I sighed. "Well? I'm not gonna sit around here and chew air. What's up?"

Cait stifled a giggle and managed to bust out, "You and Jude really look like a couple!"

My world froze and my jaw snapped open with a loud _pop_ and I stuttered, "W-W-What?!"

"You heard us," Jen laughed, "you and Jude look like a couple. How hard is it to accept that?"

Now, Jude was looking totally relaxed and not affected by this at _all, _but I on the other hand, well, I wasn't any Jude Lizowski. Caitlin and Jen were suggesting that we were a _couple? _A dating, loving couple?

No way, Jose.

"Uh, yeah, thanks for the offer, Jen and Cait, but I'd rather..." Then I stopped and snuck a quick peek back over to Jude, who was actually showing some emotion on his usually relaxed face. And the most surprising fact was, it looked like he was a little..._hurt._ Maybe Starr was actually dating one of the Gothic dudes, and he remembered or something. But the really weird part was that he was staring at _me._

"Mhm, sure, Althea. Whatever," Cait snickered and started making a squishy for a tough-looking jock. He was probably the football captain, from the way a skimpy cheerleader was hooked onto him. It sickened me.

I sat back down next to Jude, but he was still staring at the spot I had been at before with a pained expression. It worried me. I stroked his cheek and said gently, "Jude, what's wrong? Is Starr bothering you again?"

He took a moment to respond, but he lightly shook his head and slowly reached up to my hand and put his over mine, and then smiled slightly. "Nothing's wrong, bra. Not now."

_Ok, officially weird, _I thought but shrugged and hugged the blonde skater, still holding his cheek. I might have not figured out what to do about the money problem, and how I was dealing with Jude, but I absolutely was _certain _about one thing.

Jude cared for me.

I cared for him.

And I really wouldn't have it any other way, because forever isn't that long, if you really think about it.

* * *

**Me: Ok, I really need some feedback about the ending, because I was finishing this up at midnight, and it might seem a little rushed, but I'll remake the ending if more than 5people want it that way. So press the button that says 'Review' (or something related to that) and do your civil duty as a fanfic reader!**

**R&R!!!! =D**


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